Monthly Archives: September 2009

Despised due to his Tzanatzi heritage, Rom made his living as best he could by trading and selling goods in the northern and southern Einache villages alternating between them as the seasons changed. However, while preparing to travel North directly through the bordering forest, Rom learns that this journey has become increasingly treacherous as an evil presence felt once long ago appears to be rising once again. An old Einache farmer named Yldich befriends Rom offering to accompany him on his journey. Soon Rom learns, however, that Yldich is more mage than farmer having the ability to commune with nature, call upon the animals, and sense the very fabric of all that surround them. When Rom starts to experience his own dreamwalking, he begins to wonder if perhaps his meeting Yldich is something more than a simple chance encounter with a good Samaritan. In fact, Rom learns he may hold the answer to a five hundred year old curse that threatens to destroy the lives of the Einache and Tzanatzi alike.

Wendy Gillissen’s Curse of the Tahiera is a unique and fresh offering to the fantasy genre. In this debut novel, Gillissen pulls from her experience as a psychologist specializing in dreamwork and past life therapy. Through Rom the reader slowly discovers the possibilities of past lives and the impact on their contemporary vessels – how decisions made long ago have far reaching implications. While fantasy elements are present, this novel is really a character exploration of a young ostracized man dealing with his negative self view so long forged through the eyes of others and their prejudices. Through Yldich and his own inner journey, he begins to view himself and his past self differently giving context to a life previously without meaning.

Gillissen’s pace and plot unfold in an effortless manner keeping the pages turning at a rapid rate. Her detailed and carefully considered narrative and use of Tzanatzi and Einache languages help to envelope the reader into this unique world. The passages where she shares Rom’s emotional and physical journey through his first intimate experience and later love interest are exceptionally well written. Rom’s journey to the underworld is especially well crafted besting that offered by Phillip Pullman in The Amber Spyglass.

Curse of the Tahiera is a complete volume although Gillissen provides a few teaser pages for the sequel The Search for Tzanata to be published soon. I for one, look forward to its release.

As this blog has grown, I’ve occasionally had to make course corrections along the way to try to make it as productive and helpful as possible for the community of authors who participate. Some features have come and gone, layout has changed, etc. There are a number of folks who have been with me since the very beginning where for the first month or so we had five books listed and not very many tags as you can imagine.

There are a number of submissions, spam, pending requests, etc. I try to work through on a weekly basis and at times I have had to play significant catch up. With help from those active in this TMBOA community I’ve tried to listen and make improvements.

So a change moving forward will be to limit the number of books submitted by each author or member to five. I do think it is reasonable for authors to submit multiple books and get tags for them even though they may only be able to give one vote per tag in return. However, the number received should not be overly skewed versus the number given.

Looking through the site, the majority of authors have one book while a fair number have two listed. There a few more prolific writers who have more and by limiting to five submissions, I think I’m covering the huge majority of members in this community.

I will be reviewing past submissions and overtime adjust the site to reflect this policy.

Thanks for everyone for their continued support of TMBOA. This is only successful when we all help each other and for that I’m gratefull to you all.

Todd

Update (10pm CST 17 Sept): As a result of this policy change, 33 books have been removed from the TMBOA site.

Upon discovering a human infant under an ancient oak tree, the dragon Jaax wastes no time in hiding her among the elves of Oescienne. Humans have been extinct for centuries, trapped forever in dragon form by a terrible curse. Jaax assumes responsibility for the girl only to discover that what he’s been seeking for so many years has at last been found . . .
Jahrra knows all about the legends and sagas of Oescienne, but never in her wildest dreams would she believe that she played a part in one of them. She’s far too busy dodging the bullies at school and seeking out new adventures with her friends to worry about the secrets her dragon mentor might be keeping from her.
But the secrets run deep, and as Jahrra fights to earn her place in this extraordinary world, she’ll begin to unravel the truth of it all: that she isn’t as safe as she thought she was, that danger lurks around every corner, and that her role in this unfurling tale is far more significant than she could possibly imagine.

Dan Freeman loves horror movies. After seeing the movie “Stalker,” he gets very enthusiastic about it, emulating the title character and following innocent people around for fun and thrills. He wants to see how close he can get without getting caught. Close enough to eavesdrop on their cell phone conversations? Close enough to smell perfume? Close enough to touch?

Dan suspects his girlfriend of cheating on him. One night, while following her using his newfound skills, Dan finds out an awful truth.

Now the stalker becomes the stalked.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Wrong Number

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 301 KB

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B002CVTPYC

Tags Requested:

thriller, psychopath, indie

Description

It was the right number, but the wrong person to call.

Brad Mullen found the phone number on a cocktail napkin outside a “meat market” bar. On a whim he dials the number, connecting him in ways he could never have imagined with a woman named Julie.

Things move fast, culminating in sex in a local park. Trying to slow down the breakneck pace, Brad eases off a bit, but Julie doesn’t like that at all. She burrows into all factions of Brad’s life—invading his work and telling him to stay away from other women and even his best friend.

All his life Shane Lassiter revered the man who stood in place of the father he’d never known. Nathaniel Wilcock took Shane into his own home, loved him as a son, and placed within his grasp the largest ranch in the Wyoming Territory. But Shane had heard the stories. He knew the whispers about the fugitive gunman who stood against Wilcock during the land wars that rocked the valley thirty years ago. In Wilcock’s eyes, the gunman was a vigilante and an outlaw and as such he had died. To the people of Hangtree, he was a hero-a martyr who stood against corruption and injustice. When Wilcock’s greed endangers the only woman Shane has ever loved-a woman who holds the secret that could resurrect everything for which the outlaw fought-Shane finds himself a place not so very different from that of the outlaw. He must make a decision, the shadow of which will be cast over the lives of all those he loves. A decision between truth and power-between honor and life-between right and wrong.

Bullets and blackmail and beaches…
A hit man and a hurricane and a high-stakes political campaign…

…And Night Falls ramps up the action and suspense when Pensacola native Shelley Goodnight finds the body of a murder victim…but not just any victim. Dead man Farrell Gilbert worked at the desk next to Shelley’s in her father’s real estate office…an inconvenient fact the authorities can’t ignore.

Add a category three hurricane, a hitman, and a conscientious sheriff’s deputy from Santa Rosa County to the mix, and the tension tightens like a corkscrew.

She’s been living in a desert all her life. Suddenly she’s come upon an oasis. But is it just a mirage? Idaho Territory, 1885. Brooke Marie Baker, eighteen, has been sent west as a mail-order bride. As the stage nears Greer’s Ferry, where she is to meet the man she’s pledged to marry, she tries to swallow the lump of nervousness in her throat. Can it be any worse than living with Uncle Jackson…or Hank? she wonders. All men are the same, aren’t they? But with her parents and sister dead, she has no choice.

Sky Jordan, a rancher, holds a single, yellow daisy in his hand as he watches the ferry cross the river. Ever since he’d found out his surly cousin, Jason, had sent for a mail-order bride, his mind and heart had been ill at ease. No woman deserves to be left with the likes of Jason. But now he questions his own plans to claim the bride for himself. Why am I drawn to this woman I don’t even know?

A wounded heart. Desperate choices. Unfathomable love. Set in the adventure and danger of the Wild West. Book One, The Shepherd’s Heart series.

“An intriguing tale with the perfect blend of suspense, drama, and romance. Best keep your eyes on Lynnette Bonner. She’s a gifted storyteller.” -SHARLENE MACLAREN, Author, Through Every Storm, Long Journey Home, Little Hickman Creek Series, The Daughters of Jacob Kane Series

“Barry O’Shea has solved a lot of mysteries and has done his fair share to stop the bad guys. A fact he’s proud of. But, Shabdrung, an Indian mystic and gthe leader of the Ngawangeesh cult, may put an end to O’Shea’s sterling record. It seems, at least to O’Shea, that Shabdrung has a secret agenda: To systematically take over Sherman County so he can establish a foothold in the United States. Some think O’Shea’s crazy, others think he knows too much.
THIS MAY BE FICTION, BUT IT SOUNDS SO REAL

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Returning the Favor

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 57 KB

Publisher: Falstaff Books; 1 edition (July 28, 2009)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B002JM0I18

Tags Requested:

Southern Literature, Poetry, Short Stories

Description

A collection of poetry and short stories from the cock-eyed world view of a self-proclaimed overeducated redneck. This is a bunch of poems and short stories from various loves, lost loves, drunken escapades and amusing anecdotes.

Tristan Steyn has two dreams. To represent his country in international competition and to grade as the youngest nidan in the history of his karate club. When be becomes involved in a violent encounter with the brother of a fellow karateka, he fully expects to be dropped from the National Team selections. But Tristan is stunned when his mentor, Shihan Dean Stander, exacts a much harsher punishment. Hurt and angry, Tristan goes from being bright and hard working to sullen and difficult almost overnight. As friends and family begin to give up on him, tragedy strikes and Tristan is forced to show a strength of character and the emotional maturity of one far beyond his years. But is it too late to redeem himself in the eyes of his hero?

Miss Antoinette Cressida Martier has power over men. She does not need her deluded mother or her envious half-sisters to run her life. She does not need Deputy Prosecutor Jerry V Slovak to choose a father for her one-year old daughter, Ariel. She does not need a siliconed moose named Crystalle gunning for her job. All Cress needs is a new outfit, a box of condoms, and one good idea from the book, Psycho-Astrology: Stars, Sex, and Power on how to get rid of her ex-boyfriend, Troy. Before Monday.

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: a delicious songwriter-musician. They decide to be “friends-with-benefits.” But it’s Novan—with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog—that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves—and what’s really in their hearts.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Pray for Death

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 327 KB

Publisher: Custom Books Publishing; 2nd edition (July 12, 2009)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B002JM1MF4

Tags Requested:

Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

Description

A Psychopath stalks and attacks Exotic Dancers; always leaving them horrifically scarred and barely alive; with an agenda much deeper than anyone could ever imagine.

The Story unfolds in one of the mostly unlikely of places… Asheville, North Carolina, where crime has always been notoriously low. However, with the opening of Asheville’s first Adult Entertainment Club in 2002, that all changes.

Detective Steve Layton, of the Sheriff’s Sex Crimes Division, is solely assigned to the case initially, as the first attack is considered an isolated incident. However, when the second and third victims emerge, Jimmy “Buster” Cagle, the local Sheriff, assigns Layton some help.

Soon thereafter, Detective Layton learns that the Psychopath he is after, was also responsible for a crime that was personal to him. The routine investigation now becomes a personal manhunt by the Detective. He trusts no one, and will stop at nothing to catch this sick and twisted individual…

The story also takes you deep into the life of the Police Detective determined to catch one of the world’s most sadistic, modern day criminals.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Secrets by the Sea

Perfect Paperback: 212 pages

Publisher: Timeless Love (April 1, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1892343118

ISBN-13: 978-1892343116

Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches

Tags Requested:

Antigua, gothic, ghosts

Description

Stunned to learn that her grandfather’s body had washed onto an Antigua beach, a victim of foul play, Dana Sinclair leaves immediately for the exotic place her grandmother had always called “Heartbreak Island.” She moves into her grandfather’s centuries-old home, Edgewood Manor which overlooks the Caribbean Sea, and begins searching for answers to the questions haunting her…

Who would want her grandfather dead? Why did the police immediately suspect Clifton Wilder, her handsome but enigmatic neighbor? Is there something to the legend of the Brasher doubloon, or it is simply an island tale?

Here is a story collection about love, death, humor, and the glue called family. In one narrative, a man wakes up one morning to find the odor of dead fish won’t go away, but no one else can smell it. In another, a couple’s visit with friends to watch the Academy Awards has the protagonist envying his friends’ lawn and lifestyle. In these and eleven other stories, Christopher Meeks balances tragedy and wit. As novelist David Scott Milton explains, “In this collection, Christopher Meeks examines the small heartbreaks of quiet despair that are so much a part of all our lives. He does it in language that is resonant, poetic, and precise…. If you like Raymond Carver, you’ll love Meeks. He may be as good–or better.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Curse of Tahiera

Paperback: 444 pages

Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc.; 1st edition (May 9, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1601458398

ISBN-13: 978-1601458391

Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches

Tags Requested:

fantasy, spirituality, fiction

Description

A journey through haunted forests, through dreams and time.
A story of love, magic and the power of forgiveness.
A Tzanatzi outcast and an Einache shaman are on the trail of an ancient curse.
Will they save their people from destruction?

Orphaned on the trail and deceived by an outlaw sheriff, Sarah Anders is on the verge of a career as a soiled dove at Lola’s brothel. She desperately grabs at her only chance for honest work — at the Mineral Creek Ranch, owned by handsome Cal Easton. While working as a nurse to Cal’s mother, a stroke victim, she learns that Cal is a man haunted by the past and cursed by a deadly enemy bent on destroying his family and his successful ranch operation. Sarah also hides a secret past, which Cal must uncover and reconcile before they are free to love.

Lieutenant NICK LEANDROS is a battle-hardened American soldier who thinks he’s seen everything. But nothing prepared him for the horrors he encounters when he’s separated from his patrol in a dark Afghani forest. What he sees there fractures him–body and soul. Split into three separate men with three savage wills, he struggles to tame the cunning creatures and hold them inside.

His only hope of salvation is DESSA, an ancient dryad who lost her Heart Tree on that war-ravaged day. Without a forest to guard, Dessa is bound to Nick by mystic forces and she alone understands the nature of the chimera that he’s become. She also knows that Nick is the only man who can give her the child she’s longed for and the only man who can ensure the future of her country. But the cruelest, most lustful, part of him demands her submission as the price for his help and with her powers waning every day, time is running out for Dessa to save the last forests of Afghanistan…and to heal the man she’s come to love.

Kaylee Renard has never taken the time for love. Independence and financial security have always been top priority. Besides, she believed there will be time for a relationship later, when she can fit it in. In light of a terminal cancer diagnosis, however, her views change, and when Kaylee passes out and falls into a pond, Bastian Connelly, alone and suicidal, goes in after her, hoping that in trying to save Kaylee’s life, he will end his own. But life isn’t done with Bastian, and neither is love. As Kaylee comes to love him, she wonders what she’s missed and seeks to find whatever gifts fate might grant her.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________New Life Incorporated

Paperback: 266 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace (July 9, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1442180080

ISBN-13: 978-1442180086

Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches

Tags Requested:

Science Fiction, Action, Thriller

Description

The Longevity Chip is a marvel of biotechnology-an implant that slows aging and ensures virtual immortality. It’s safe, affordable, and guaranteed. Thousands have been sold, and thousands more are in production, quickly making New Life Incorporated the wealthiest, most powerful corporation on the globe. The fountain of youth, it seems, has at long last been found. But the Resisters aren’t buying it; they suspect the Chip has some guarded, secret purpose, and seek the truth of its design. Still, truth often comes at great cost-as their increasingly violent confrontations with the Lifers, who defend the source of their newfound “salvation,” attest. As far as Joe Ramsey is concerned, he’d just as soon stay out of it. But when he inadvertently thwarts the assassination of a key Resister, Joe is thrown headlong into a tangle of deceit, treachery, and intrigue that may prove New Life CEO Caleb Walker the most dangerous man on earth.

About the Author: Jim Chambers was born in 1946, nine months and five days after his father returned from serving with the U.S. 8th Air Force in England during World War II. After earning two engineering degrees at Georgia Tech, he spent the next 40 years designing highways in Georgia. Besides writing, Chambers is an avid amateur photographer and scuba diver. His land and underwater photography has been published in such prestigious publications as National Geographic, Popular Science, and Parade Magazine.

About the Book: As one of the first post-WWII Baby Boomers, Jim Chambers’ childhood and early teenage years were in the 1950s, a remarkable decade for the United States that saw enormous political, technological, and cultural changes. Although many books have covered the headline-making events of the era in great detail, few of these books give the reader a real feel for what daily life was like for Americans living in that decade, especially for kids growing up then. The author remembers the little nuts and bolts things of daily life for families during the fascinating decade known as the Fabulous Fifties. “Recollections” perfectly blends paying homage to the little day-to-day rituals with a larger scale examination of social issues and mores of the times, and it’s equally entertaining on either level. “Recollections” is a warm, lovingly honest, and fascinating portrait of America in the mid-20th Century.

Four years ago Ryan’s parents disowned him for being gay. To escape their threats against him and his friends, he ran away to Canada. Now his twin sister Nicole is getting married to his best friend Peter, and Ryan will risk anything to attend. Help arrives in the most unexpected form: Peter’s older brother Daniel, the man Ryan had loved from afar for many years.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________A Yank Back to England

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: GemmaMedia (January 1, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1934848247

ISBN-13: 978-1934848241

Tags Requested:

England, travel, memoir

Description

Laughs—and lots of tea—are on the menu when Denis Lipman returns to the East End of London with his new American wife, Frances. Join Denis as he rents quaint cottages, hosts a parade of outrageous relatives, meets quirky locals, and discovers what it’s really like in the English countryside. It’s all much better than Denis remembered—and a lot funnier too!
Author: Denis Lipman

Will Annie be happy again? She needs God’s help! However, Annie is not in tune with God, and has not been for a long time. Will she pay attention to the still-small voice of God in spite of everything? There are many questions in Annie’s mind. Will she ever get to the end of her problems? Will she get the answers that she is looking for? Everything seems to be going downhill for Annie. She decides moving away to another state may bring her answers. Will she find her true love, the one and only man for her from the Lord?

“The biblical picture of God as refuge has been precious to believers through the ages but I believe it has a particular poignancy in the current cultural landscape. This resource will prove useful both in its practicality and its accessibility. More importantly, it seeks to bring biblical truth to bear on specific areas of thought and conduct where biblical truth is what is needed most.”
Mike BullmorePastor,
Crossway Church
A thirty-one day devotional arranged thematically on the topic of finding refuge in God.

After her almost-wedding to a bigamist, successful children’s author Braeden McKay has given up on love. She’s content to live vicariously through her imaginary heroine, Platypus Pearl, and a gaggle of adventurous, web-footed cohorts — until a working vacation in New Orleans shakes up her quiet, structured world. Had she known that souvenir nickel stolen from the grave of a hoodoo woman would catapult her into a nightmare of betrayal and murder, she would have insisted her friend put it back.

Cursed nickel or unfortunate happenstance? Sanderson Montgomery isn’t one to discount the supernatural beliefs of others. This is The Big Easy, after all, Mecca to the spiritual and the superstitious. As a veteran detective, neither does he ignore cold, hard fact. And the fact is, someone or something is bent on harming Braeden McKay, and it’s up to him to protect her while keeping his heart out of the mix.

Can love, the very thing Braeden wants no part of, be the one force greater than any adversary — even a hoodoo curse?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Sleep Before Evening

Paperback: 296 pages

Publisher: Bewrite Books (July 24, 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1904492967

ISBN-13: 978-1904492962

Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches

Tags Requested:

literary fiction, coming-0f-age, addiction

Description

Marianne is teetering at the edge of reason. A death in the family sends her brilliant academic career and promising future spiraling out of control until resentment towards those who shaped her past leads her on a wild and desperate search for the truth about herself. On the seedy side of New York, she meets Miles, a hip musician busking the streets and playing low-rent venues in a muddled bid to make his own dreams come true. In her new life, she finds anarchic squalor, home grown music and poetry, booze, drugs, sex, violence, love, loss . and, above all, exhilarating freedom on her troubled journey from sleep to awakening. This gritty, relentless story unfolds with the same cool detachment that motivates the central character to peel back the layers of her life and expose the painful scalding within.

Elizabeth and Lev believe the danger with the dark angels and the Dagger of Light are finally behind them, but with Elizabeth’s sacrifice comes a new more menacing threat as whatever power the dagger once possessed now possesses Elizabeth, endangering all those she loves most. In a last ditch effort to protect them, Elizabeth runs away, unaware her fate rests with a triune of angels who have come to judge her transgressions against others of their kind.
Book 3 of the Sojourner series

“Next to Waterford Crystal, The Daughter-in-Law Rules may be the best wedding gift you can give!”
–Tim Bete, author of Guide to Pirate Parenting

Do you dread visits with your mother-in-law?
Do you find yourself dodging ruthless remarks at every possible moment? Is battling your mother-in-law a simple fact of life, or is there another approach to assuage the age-old conflict between mother and wife?

In her hilarious new book The Daughter –in-Law Rules author Sally Shields lays out 101simple and witty strategies to aid wives of all ages in mastering every element of MIL relations—from the decorum of housekeeping to the delicate world of child rearing.

Whether you’re at the beginning of your marriage or you’ve spent years trying to make peace with your mother-in-law, The Daughter-in-Law Rules provides a revolutionary set of strategies, making copasetic coexistence possible at last!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Loves Eclipse of the Heart

Hardcover: 430 pages

Publisher: Outskirts Press (July 13, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1432741160

ISBN-13: 978-1432741167

Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches

Tags Requested:

Paranormal Romance, Time Travel, K S Michaels

Description

July 9, 2009, Adelanto, CA and Denver, CO – K.S. Michaels has just released the second installment of the Love Returns trilogy, published by Outskirts Press. Love’s Eclipse of the Heart is a paranormal romance novel based on time travel—old souls that traverse through time—and the people who are destined to love each other.

Bradley and Destiny first meet in a precariously suspended elevator in an old, dilapidated office building. Trapped in the elevator with them is Rosemary, the eccentric janitor who, over the course of their 16-hour entrapment, reveals that she is much more than she appears. Not only is she actually the president of the insurance company where Bradley and Destiny work, she is also a sage in matters of the heart and a matriarch and mentor of countless souls. She has cleverly engineered the couple’s meeting in order to answer destiny’s call, and she watches proudly as the sexual tension and compatibility build between the two young people.

As Rosemary has accurately predicted, the occupants of the elevator are finally rescued from their predicament—but their adventure is not over. Bradley and Destiny are introduced to Crystal, a beautiful and troubled diva whose search for her soul mate has been thwarted by a fractal time warp. They also meet Mike, another old soul whose destiny is intertwined with the others, and Rosemary carefully navigates the various characters through a convoluted maze of intrigue and age-old love. She successfully reunites the soul mates who were meant to be together, and in the process leaves a legacy of infinite power with her ability to teach and guide the others to tap into the magic of their psychic abilities.

I could see Rosemary’s plan unfolding with magic beyond words. The mustang that couldn’t be broken by any means conceivable by mere mortals was whispered to a tame lull by a lady with a very old soul, a very powerful gift, and a will to prove love, the most precious gift granted by God himself which is never to be forsaken… The magic of timing and place had founded a new meaning of serenity in the annals of healing eternity and love’s eclipse of the heart.

The Love Returns trilogy exposes the magic we all possess, even if we don’t understand its power, potential, or origin. The series will evoke laughter, tears, a fondness for familiar souls, and a love within us all we might have thought no one understood. Michaels says, “After reading this story, you will come away feeling elated, spiritually reborn, and ready to receive those odd nudges that invariably dictate our hearts and souls. This is not merely a romance novel. It’s a self-help guide for those in search of their soul mate.” It’s also a love story that people will be talking about for generations.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Love Returns through the Portal of Time

Hardcover

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 411 KB

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc. (December 8, 2007)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B001KBZNRS

Tags Requested:

Paranormal Romance, Kindle, K S Michaels

Description

Was She from the Past, the Future, or Both?

As the encroaching flames grew greater, Gayle’s braving face swelled red with ashen blisters. Her waist length hair ignited, as did her bloodstained dress. The pain more immense by every passing moment, Gayle wrestled with the ropes that bound her. The villagers, now with less anger in their eyes, read only of grotesque curiosity, curious of death and its nature of arrival. Gayle burned before their very eyes and yet no one of the phlegmatic crowd would hide from the sight. A painful, spine-chilling, scream exuded through the air.
Since childhood, Jason had been haunted by dreams of Gayle, a witch who was burned at the stake centuries before. Linked in a way that no one else can quite understand or explain, these souls discover how difficult-and yet, how easy-it is to travel lifetimes, despite the toils of time and eternity.
In another time, and another place, Mike, a young and precocious soul, is himself haunted by strange dreams and visions. What is the source of his latent powers? And who is the mysterious lady in white who meets him at every turn?
Love Returns Through the Portal of Time is a dazzling novel of the power of love and the endurance of the human spirit. Love Returns Through The Portal of Time: A “true love” story.

You are privy to information most would never understand. Many would never believe. You, yourself, find it to be the ultimate key to life and love; the key to finding your soul mate and all that applies. The weird of destiny is truly at our fingertips.
But now, we go one step further with those feelings we all get of deja vu, feelings of familiarity in other places and other people, uncanny abilities, special talents never before practiced.
One step further…to the next life.
What would you do? How would you prepare yourself?
Once you have found your soul mate. You are successful. You have made all your dreams come true. You have mastered your psyche. What is next?
In the spectrum of time on Earth, a lifetime is but a fleeting moment, a measurement as small as a grain of sand amongst all the beaches of ten worlds. The sentient, incarnate realm of which we consider a finite age ends the term of body and soul with a word we call death. But does it really end there? What happens to the soul? Does it live on? Where?
If you knew you were going to be born again on this planet, what steps would you take to insure that you find your soul mate, again?
Read ‘Love Returns Through The Portal of Time’ and find what Gayle, Jason and Mike do to find themselves in the next life.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________How a Dorm Became a Home

Paperback: 294 pages

Publisher: PublishAmerica (May 2, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1413778631

ISBN-13: 978-1413778632

Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces

Tags Requested:

inspirational, coming of age, fiction

Description

Welcome to New House 5. Yes, it’s the top floor of a brand new dormitory at a prestigious university. But it’s also something much more. For fifty-six freshmen, it’s home. It’s a place where friends are made and doors are always open. It’s a place where hearts are broken and tears are shed. And for Andy Butler, it’s the best story about friendship he has ever known. Andy is the resident assistant for New House 5, and it’s his responsibility to bring the floor together, to support everyone, through their triumphs and through their letdowns. Join Andy as he shows how New House 5 becomes a family and then falls apart when hidden problems come to light. Watch as these students try to overcome their flaws and fears to create a bond so special that nothing can pull them apart. Not even themselves.

There’s trouble on the rise when the “Diva of Dough” arrives in Quincy’s Gap to make the wedding cake for Milla and Jackson’s Christmas Eve nuptials. The famous chef and television personality is Milla’s sister, but while her confections are sweet and beautiful, the Diva herself makes enemies faster than you can say “praline pecan bundt cake.” When the Diva is done in, her body found covered in cake batter, James and the other supper club members find themselves up to their elbows in suspects.

A cozy “village” mystery, The Battered Body is the fifth book in the warm and wonderful Supper Club Mystery series.

The increase of single mothers is staggering and also very liberating. In the rough and tumble of this chaotic liberation, it can be challenging for a single mom not to lose her way (and her sense of humor) as she travels down “Single Mom Lane”. Momalogue, A Journey through a Single Mother’s Hood offers the tools of not letting your dreams stand in the way of mothering, and vice versa. Julie shares her honest, edgy and sometimes heartbreaking look into a single mom’s journey with a “laugh out loud” and a personal and fresh style of writing throughout each chapter. Momalogue is informative and entertaining as Julie presents an intimate peek in sharing her personal stories and addresses a range of topics including: Dating, financial struggles, and a spiritual confidence that echoes a positive message toward finding a better way and a better you.

The New Testament church was founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. The New Testament was finally completed and the last apostle died just before the end of the first century. It is in their writings that God has delivered to the human race the surest, most reliable and accurate words regarding salvation.
Somehow through time the original demands of Jesus and His apostles have been degraded and dismissed as meaningless mandates, senseless stipulations and irrelevant rhetoric. This book is a full frontal assault on the partial truths, blatant lies and trite traditions that have not only besieged Christianity but have actually infiltrated it. This book is a decree to discard the cunningly devised fables of men. And it is a commission to reencounter the soul-purifying truths of the faith that was delivered first. (Revised June, 2008).

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearts Upon a Fragile Bough

Paperback: 292 pages

Publisher: Global Authors Publishers (April 4, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0979808782

ISBN-13: 978-0979808784

Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches

Tags Requested:

family saga, historical fiction, womens fiction

Description

When Hannah Reilly steps of the ship on the shores of Ellis Island in 1912 she has no idea that it is not a convent that awaits her, it is a man who finds her far too beautiful to marry God. Madly in love, Hannah and Wade settle in Jacksonville, Florida, where the world holds the promise of sunshine. They have two wonderful children before life changes, and Wade insists that Hannah abort her third child. When Hannah refuses, Wade turns to alcohol and other women. Joy fades to darkness after Wade commits his wife to a mental institution where her life ends by her own hand in 1934. Hannah’s third child, Vita, flees her aunt’s motel where she’s forced to work as a cleaning maid and winds up in Miami at Kit Malone’s brothel. Beautiful and stately, Vita becomes a high price prostitute, a millionaire’s mistress and eventually, a Billy Rose showgirl. When Vita meets the love of her life in Manhattan, the charming but naïve Julius Clark, life blossoms into something both frightening and titillating. But when Vita gives birth to her daughter, Fanny, it is this shadowy and stormy relationship that alters the course of both of their destinies and defines their future.

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: a delicious songwriter-musician. They decide to be “friends-with-benefits.” But it’s Novan—with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog—that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves—and what’s really in their hearts.

Third in a series of audiobooks with multicultural folktales, this time tales of goddesses and heroines from Cambodia, the United States, Great Britain, Ethiopia, Siberia and Turkey. Amy Friedman writes these stories, selected from her popular worldwide syndicated newspaper feature, Tell Me A Story, and illustrator Jillian Gilliland’s beautiful drawings grace the CD. Each story is read by one of stage and screen’s most talented performers, and each is accompanied by original music by the renowned composer Laura Hall.

Alexia is determined to protect her city, and if that means wearing the cloak of thievery, well, who better than she–a practiced observer of human behavior and a pretty good sneak thief as well?

Alexia steals the crystals that power Haven to prove that it can be done. Her plan to improve security works perfectly–until a real thief goes after the crystals. Unfortunately, if she admits what she knows, she’ll be blamed for all the attempts at the crystals. With no easy choices, she enters a dangerous game of cat and mouse against both the security chief and the real thieves.

The competition is likely to cost her everything she holds dear—but she’ll do what she has to in order to stop the insiders that are determined to take the crystals and end the game for good.

Young Adult/Adult Crossover

Maria Schneider has published stories in Coyote Wild Magazine, Dunesteef.com, TownDrunkMag.com and ClonePod.org. Her latest short story,” Top Secret,” was published at “Over My Dead Body” in August 2009.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Tales from a Magical Kingdom

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 105 KB

Publisher: Bear Mountain Books; 1 edition (July 17, 2009)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B002HWSQTQ

Tags Requested:

Fantasy, Magic, Kindle

Description

Sword and Sorcery meets Agatha Christie. Three novellas introduce the Kingdom of Sage and those who protect its boundaries. Join Demetria and her husband Ward in their adventures as they protect Sage from evil: Rats, Snakes and perpetrators from within.

Sometimes it takes a more experienced hand to save an entire Kingdom.

The first of these stories, “Toil, Trouble and Rot,” was published in “Coyote Wild Magazine.” The other two are all new, original stories.

“Toil, Trouble and Rot” finds the Kingdom of Sage under attack from a deadly and mysterious enemy.

In “Dungeons and Decay” find out just how far a mother will go when her child is in danger–and how much magic it takes to keep him safe.

In “Call to Arms” every hand is needed when a ghost invades the kingdom demanding old wrongs be righted.

Maria Schneider has published stories in Coyote Wild Magazine, Dunesteef.com, TownDrunkMag.com and ClonePod.org. Her latest short story, “Top Secret,” was published at “Over My Dead Body” in August 2009.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Pretty is as Pretty Dies

Paperback: 216 pages

Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (August 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0738714801

ISBN-13: 978-0738714806

Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches

Tags Requested:

cozy mystery, mystery, Southern mysteries

Description

“Pretty is as Pretty Dies”
Bingo, bridge-and a dead body
in the church sanctuary?

Life in this small Southern town just got ugly . . . and exciting!

No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck-not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the crime would prove to everyone (especially her son Red, the police chief) that this eighty-something-year-old is not ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

The victim, a pretty but pushy town developer, had deep pockets and few friends. Myrtle can’t throw one of her gaudy garden gnomes without hitting a potential suspect. Even when another murder takes place, proud Myrtle forges on, armed only with a heavy cane, a venomous tongue, and a widower sidekick.

Battling evil and saving the world was a piece of cake compared to Elliot Lake’s next challenge – getting the elusive Sky Lark to marry him. He can’t imagine a world without her long blond hair, violet eyes, creative mind and insightful sixth sense. He loves her, her four perfect daughters, her whole family, but she won’t say yes. Sky stands by her decision, not understanding why Elliot would want to stay in the Cove when he has the means to go anywhere, do anything with his life. What will it take for her to understand she is his life?

Join Elliot Lake in his fifth story, CONVINCING SKY, the first short story by C.L.Moyer to be released on Kindle. Look for REFLECTING LAKE on Kindle in the second half of 2009, and MARRYING TREE, MOURNING DOVE and TREASURE BAY in 2010. Please visit http://www.clmoyer.com for more release dates and news on Elliot Lake, Sky Lark and their world of Sea Otter Cove on the Oregon Coast.

With the ease of use and clean design of its bestselling predecessor, The Essential Baby Organizer picks up where The Essential Pregnancy Organizer left off, helping parents track the important details and memorable events of baby’s first year.
The Essential Baby Organizer provides plenty of pages to track baby’s feeding, sleeping, and diapering patterns – popular topics for parents, friends, caregivers, and pediatricians during the newborn months – along with useful benchmarks for what to expect as baby grows. Journal pages are sprinkled throughout the organizer, so even the busiest parents will capture every detail of infancy, including baby’s exciting firsts.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Chronicles of a Nomad

Paperback: 284 pages

Publisher: A. A. Alvarez Publishing; 1st edition (January 15, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9609309186

ISBN-13: 978-9609309189

Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches

Tags Requested:

immigration, venezuela, immigrant

Description

A provocative novel where wit and reality join hands to challenge the common misconceptions about today’s new wave of immigrants. The plot highlights the reasons why well-established citizens in the Americas also leave the south in favor of the north and adresses why in recent years many have immigrated to other continents instead. By portraying what happens behind the scenes, the story provides an insider’s perspective about the way plenty of today’s young immigrants live their lives and why their generation could best be described as The Immigrant Generation.

Independent book critics such as Midwest Book Review, TeensReadToo, and ReviewYourBook called it “Witty and Wise,” “Inspitational,” and one that “Should be Mandatory Reading” respectively. A. A. Alvarez writing style has been described as humorous, brutally honest, and touching.

This first-person adventure is narrated by Carlos Rodriguez, an intrepid young immigrant who embarked in a journey of self-discovery and reflection by confiding his secrets to the reader. Although he spends his childhood in abundance, at age fifteen, the worsening state of his troubled nation leads him to Denver, Colorado, where he ends up overstaying the time allowed on his tourist visa. Not many years later, he is left with no choice but to immigrate to Greece, where the ghosts of his past challenge his future and where his search for home leads him farther away from his hometown, Caracas, Venezuela.

The reader is then taken on an exciting roller-coaster ride through three very different countries and a multitude of obstacles that are often serious and humorous at the same time.

The author’s easy-going style can be enjoyed by readers of all origins and political affiliations, and his chapters include topics on family, education, culture, religion, economy, politics, love, and of course, immigration.

While this novel is a work of fiction, it is a reflection of the author’s own experience and was inspired by the stories of the many immigrants with whom he has crossed paths, making it a worthy read for those wishing to embark on a truly heartfelt adventure.

Finally! A well designed, well researched, easy-to-use organizer for every stage of pregnancy. Forget ducks and bunny rabbits–this clean, sophisticated organizer is designed for modern parents-to-be.

An essential addition to your pregnancy library, this handy tool simplifies the process of preparing for a baby. Tabs provide quick access to checklists, forms, and questionnaires that help manage the details of pregnancy and baby’s first weeks at home.

This journal-sized organizer fits perfectly in a handbag, making it the ideal companion for the many travels between nightstand, desk, and practitioner s office. With space to answer questions about pregnancy and baby’s birth, 40 Weeks + ultimately becomes a record of the amazing journey into parenthood!

Photojournalist Rachael Barker is sent on assignment to Sedona, AZ. Her editor wants coverage of the lecture series presented by enigmatic New Age novelist and lecturer, Arch Adamson. Still mourning the death of her fiance, Rachael is unprepared for the impact of a chance meeting with handsome Derek Ryder, who is also coping with heartache. Mystery and intrigue lead Derek and Rachael into the desert, but a greater force shows them the way forward.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearts Across Forever

Paperback: 230 pages

Publisher: Oak Tree Publishing (IL); 1st edition (July 1, 2001)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1892343207

ISBN-13: 978-1892343208

Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches

Tags Requested:

Jamaica, reincarnation, Rose Hall Great House

Description

Photojournalist Rachael Barker is sent on assignment to Sedona, AZ. Her editor wants coverage of the lecture series presented by enigmatic New Age novelist and lecturer, Arch Adamson. Still mourning the death of her fiance, Rachael is unprepared for the impact of a chance meeting with handsome Derek Ryder, who is also coping with heartache. Mystery and intrigue lead Derek and Rachael into the desert, but a greater force shows them the way forward.

Kristianna discovers the magic of Scotland when she comes face to face with the man of
her dreams – four hundred years in the past…

Art-history major Kristianna Campbell gets more education than she bargains for when she
visits Scotland with her college class. On a shopping excursion she picks up an unusual
souvenir—an antique pocket watch once owned by Iain MacGregor.
The enchanted watch pulls her back through time where she lands smack in the middle of
Iain MacGregor’s territory—in the year 1603, during the proscription against the
MacGregors.
Unsure of where she is or how she got there, Kris is stunned when she sees Iain and
realizes he’s not exactly a stranger to her. She’s dreamed of him for weeks. And her
attraction to him is stronger in the flesh than in her dreams. Realizing the danger in revealing
her real surname of Campbell, Kristianna tells him her last name is Armstrong.
The situation is tense as Iain battles enemies on all sides, thanks to King James VI and the
decree that the name of MacGregor be outlawed, and the Earl of Argyll, Archibald
Campbell’s desire to see the MacGregors decimated. Iain has neither the time nor the
inclination to deal with the strange lass who mysteriously landed in his territory.
But Kristianna affects him in ways no other woman has. To desire her is acceptable, but
when she begins to reach the heart he thought long dead, he knows he will never be the
same.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________4: Play

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 378 KB

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English

ASIN: B002KCNSUA

Tags Requested:

paranormal romance, erotica, lgbt

Description

4:Play captures the deliciousness of sexual fulfillment, the adventure of conquest, and the mystery of unexplored territory.

Among these progressive stories, a brother and sister try to make sense of the sexual love they share; a demure young woman encounters an incubus; and two friends strike up a stimulating discussion that acts as the perfect aphrodisiac.

With a scope and style that is fresh and compelling, 4:Play dives into the depths of navigating gender, sexuality, and the lines of desire.

Working at the very large array surveying the cosmos for any sign of extraterrestrial intelligence, Dr. Anna Koppernick and her colleagues receive a message – clear, and unambiguous. However, the nature of the message’s source is such that it is impossible to track its origin. Stonewalled by national security agents, Anna contacts her estranged husband – Dr. Niklas Koppernick – for help. Not only is Niklas a Nobel prize winning astrophysicist, but he also the director for MOLO – Mobile Lunar Observatory – the largest and most powerful observatory available to man. Niklas too has made a discovery – an anomaly in space that according to his analysis is older than the universe itself. Though this contradicts everything Niklas and Anna previously believed to be true, the worst part is the anomaly is growing and accelerating throughout the cosmos. Threatening everything in its path, the anomaly races toward Earth as Niklas and Anna work to understand its secrets and if perhaps there is help from somewhere else in the cosmos.

John R Johnson’s Purusha’s Urn, is somewhat reminiscent of Carl Sagan’s masterpiece Contact. An extraterrestrial message is received but instead of a coded signal instructing humanity to build a machine, Johnson’s offering provides not a signal, but a question and a warning. The race against a cosmic cataclysm and the potential that it is all but predetermined evoked the same feelings I had while reading Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clark or while watching the Nicolas Cage movie Knowing.

There is enough science in Purusha’s Urn to provide plausibility to the speculative fiction offered though hard core science fiction fans may take issue with a few items. But for me, I was frequently drawn to this book finding myself stealing moments away from my daily routine to try to read just a few more chapters. As a result, I completed the novel in just a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed the ride along the way. While there are some thought provoking questions about the nature of reality and the fabric of the universe, I found the questions surrounding the end of humanity more captivating much like those found in Children of Men.

Johnson’s writing is crisp and the action paces the novel. Pursha’s Urn is an engaging, entertaining, escapist adventure perfect for a summer read. Enjoy.

After saving the world and fulfilling the warrants in The Third Peregrination (Book 2 of the Jade Owl Legacy Series), Rowden Gray welcomes a more traditional domestic life. Expecting his second child and preparing for a new display as curator at the museum, all seems well. Yet Rowden’s dreams foretell a future adventure and he wonders why it is the gifts of telekinesis and telepathy bestowed upon him by the now silent artifacts remain. For Nick Battle however, these are more than just questions but a curse. Blessed with similar gifts, Nick dons a mask and cape living out his nights as a vigilante attempting to right the worlds wrongs one incident at a time. Around the world, the other China Hands are once again inexplicably drawn to one another to not only save loved ones from the clutches of time but complete a new warrant involving an even greater power than they had previously encountered or expected.

In this third installment of the Jade Owl Legacy, Edward C. Patterson once again delivers on an intriguing fantasy. Whereas the first two books focus around the relics which drive much of the story, this book takes a moment to fill in the back story for the main characters. Patterson weaves a complex and detailed tapestry of families, legend, history, destiny, politics, love interests, and conspiracy all with an international flair including the requisite destinations of San Francisco and China with substantial time also dedicated to Italy. This book brings back some of the strongest characters from the first book including Nick’s partner Simone and many of the others who were either not mentioned or had small parts in the second offering. As usual, Patterson’s descriptions, characters, and cadence bring great texture to a very unusual, educational, and engaging story.

While the first two books could likely be read independently, I think this book is best enjoyed if the previous books are read first. Also, a companion series (the Southern Swallow Series) provides readers with additional information explaining the origins of the relics and the references to the key characters referenced throughout the Jade Owl Series.

Patterson has truly created an expansive and epic series with the Jade Owl Legacy. Though all warrants appear closed at the end of this installment, Patterson throws in a unexpected twist at the end leaving the door open for the next adventure.

Returning home early from a job working on a drilling platform, Michael Renton finds a strange pickup truck filled with his possessions parked outside of his house. Certain he is being robbed and that his family may be in danger, Michael grabs his shotgun intent on defending his wife, children, and property. What follows is an unfortunate series of events resulting in a unforgivable crime of passion. Distraught and without hope, Michael leaves town tortured by the memories of his actions. He considers suicide as a way to end the pain, but decides instead to fulfill a lifelong dream of exploring the Appalachian trail in order to find peace and perhaps end it all on such a journey. As he travels cross country to begin his journey in Georgia, little does Michael know he is being tracked by someone intent on seeking revenge for the brutal slaying he has committed.

As I read Mark Sadler’s Blood on His Hands, I was reminded of A Simple Plan by Scott Smith and how a sequence of smaller choices suddenly gets completely out of control and the resulting consequences destroy so many lives. Sadler does a great job putting us inside Michael Renton’s head and the remorse and questions one would ask themselves if found in a similar situation – Is life worth continuing? What about kids and family? How to live with such guilt? Can inner peace be regained? Is ending it all being selfish or is continuing to live more selfish? If only one could go back in time and change any one event perhaps it would all be different…

I especially enjoyed the latter half of the book where the action takes place along the Appalachian trail. The author’s month long experience hiking the trial comes through in the wonderful description of the trail itself, the available lodging, the wildlife, camping, types of hikers one encounters, small towns along the trail, equipment needed, and all around hiking life on the trail. The care in which all of this is described and woven into the storyline gives it a strong sense of realism such that I felt I was right there along experiencing the beauty, wonder, danger, and aching muscles associated with hiking the AT.

The eventual climax and resolution of the novel is very satisfying and expertly written in the vein of classic passages penned by best selling authors Lincoln and Child. Those who enjoy an engaging and face paced thriller along with the majesty of one of natures most beautiful hiking settings will surely enjoy Blood on His Hands.